MOVING DNS
Moving DNS is the change people avoid longest, because the failure mode is the whole business being unreachable and the process is described almost nowhere in a way that inspires confidence.
It is genuinely low risk if done in the right order, and genuinely dangerous if done in the wrong one. The difference is entirely about TTLs and sequencing, not about which provider you choose.
This guide covers how to plan a move, what to lower before you start, the order that keeps you reachable throughout, and what to check afterwards.
In this guide you will learn:
Registrar, nameservers, records: three separate things.
The value already cached is the one that governs the change.
Everything, including the records nobody remembers adding.
What to change first, and why mail goes before web.
MX, SPF and DKIM are the parts that break silently.
Your own resolver is the last one that tells you the truth.
What you need kept in order to go back.
What to watch for a fortnight afterwards.
Chapter 1
Registrar, nameservers, records: three separate things.
This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into
guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.
Chapter 2
The value already cached is the one that governs the change.
This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into
guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.
Chapter 3
Everything, including the records nobody remembers adding.
This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into
guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.
Chapter 4
What to change first, and why mail goes before web.
This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into
guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.
Chapter 5
MX, SPF and DKIM are the parts that break silently.
This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into
guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.
Chapter 6
Your own resolver is the last one that tells you the truth.
This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into
guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.
Chapter 7
What you need kept in order to go back.
This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into
guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.
Chapter 8
What to watch for a fortnight afterwards.
This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into
guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.
Check yours
Everything in this guide, checked on your domain in about ten seconds. Free, no account, every finding shown in full.